SHO Shaun Hergatt Wants to Make Its Pearl Bar a ‘Drinking Destination’

May 27, 2010

When SHO Shaun Hergatt opened amid an economic recession last year, it was criticized for its highbrow concept and tiny, artfully constructed dishes priced at pre-recession levels. But, as Sarah DiGregorio pointed out when she visited, a two-course prix fixe wasn’t much more expensive than at your average midtown fine dining spot. Still, she noted, its location might prove to be an impediment to its success.

“The Financial District is totally dead at night,” she wrote. That said, the plan to turn SHO’s Pearl Bar into a “drinking destination” may be seen as ambitious. And yet that’s the idea.

Bar manager Aaron Polsky, who helped design the cocktail menu (including the tart-and-funky White Whiskey Smash), says that the bar will try to attract nighttime revelers who may not be interested in a full meal in the restaurant.

“We don’t want to take business away from the restaurant,” he says. “We want people to feel like they can just come for a drink, to relax with friends.”